Star Wars: Remnant
by cairparavel95
Summary: Ben Laeton, a boy from Coruscant in his early teens, crash lands on Dagobah while traveling to see Emperor Palpatine's inauguration. He is trained by Yoda and embarks on a quest to destroy the Empire before it even begins.
1. Chapter 1

Info: The following takes place between episodes 3 and 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my characters and my plot.

The Jedi Apprentice

Chapter 1

"Where am I?" Ben Laeton, former student of the T.A.T.Y. (Training Academy for Troubled Youth), asked himself. All he could see was dark swamp land with large trees growing all around. Before he could answer his own question, a voice came from the darkness and interrupted his thought. "On Dagobah, you are," Ben stared into the darkness as an old green man slowly walked towards him, "Your ship, crashed it did. The only survivor, you were." The green man said.

Ben pulled a small glowing crystal from his pocket. It was a gift from his best friend who said his father found it on an archaeological expedition to Mimban. It glowed brightly, bright enough for him to see the smoldering wreckage of his ship. He ran over to the wreckage and fell to his knees. His friends were all dead. He had no one left in the entire galaxy. He put his head in his hands and wept.

He had been sitting there for hours, or so it seemed, before the little green man came to his side. "Sorry, I am for your loss." The green man said. Ben lifted his head and looked at the green man. "Who are you?" Ben asked him. The green man chuckled a hoarse laugh, turned, and began to walk away. "In good time, tell you, I will. Follow me, you must."

Ben slowly stood to his feet, wary of what might lurch at him from the shadows at any moment. He quickly followed the old green man, who's pace was fast considering his seemingly old age, to an old shack hidden among the vines and trees. Once inside, the man handed Ben a bowl of something. Ben sniffed it and the universal "Eww" expression crossed his face. After trying a bite, he felt as though he would hurl, so he decided to set the bowl aside.

"You said you would tell me who you are. I wish to have my question answered." Ben said to the man. The old man stood and hobbled over to him. "Yoda, I am." That one sentence brought everything into perspective. This was Yoda, the Jedi master of legendary proportions. The master who had nearly bested Palpatine. "Close your mouth, you should. Insects, fly in, they will." Ben closed his mouth and looked at the Jedi master.

"What do you need with me?" Ben asked. Yoda closed his eyes. He seemed to be sensing something. Finally he opened his eyes and looked at Ben. "The force, strong it is in you. Train you, will I. Train you I will." Ben's mouth dropped open again. "Me?! A Jedi?!" Yoda nodded. "Begin training, tomorrow, you will. Tonight, sleep you must."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ben trained under Master Yoda on Degobah for twelve more years. He excelled greatly in the mastery of the lightsaber as well as the force enabling him to master the form known as Ataru. He was strong in the force, and he knew so, but he kept a humble perspective unlike Anakin Skywalker who sought ultimate power through his already great abilities.

Now, after his twelve years on Degobah, and hours of salvaging parts to construct a new ship in addition to his training, he was finally ready to venture out into the world. Master Yoda approached him, hobbling along as usual. "Time for you to go, it is. The parts for your lightsaber, you must take." Yoda handed Ben a few metal pieces used to construct the saber. "Ilum, your first destination is. Locate a crystal, you must. From there, know what you must do, you do." Ben bowed to Master Yoda and turned to enter his ship. It was small, but Ben was confident it would carry him where he needed to go. Before closing the cockpit he looked to Master Yoda. "May the force be with you." Ben said. Master Yoda nodded in agreement. "May the force be with you."

Ben engaged the engines and the small, salvaged vessel began to lift off. Soon he had burst through the moss laden trees and was exiting the atmosphere of the swamp world on his way to the wintry planet Ilum. It took him a bit to get used to the controls since he hadn't flown before, but, since the force was with him, he had only a little trouble handling his ship. Ben clicked on the auto-pilot and began to drift into sleep. Something he wouldn't be getting much of for the next few years.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ben awoke about an hour later to the buzzing of the hyperspace alarm. He yawned and reached over to disable the auto pilot. Taking the controls, he skillfully landed the ship onto the frozen, mountainous world of Ilum. Ben sighed as he remembered that he had neglected to bring any cold weather clothes. He opened the cockpit and jumped out into the freezing cold tundra and began to run toward an opening in the side of a mountain.

Ben marveled at the glowing crystals that surrounded him, all different shades of blue and green. He walked over to a clump of blue crystals and selected one of a darker shade. Ben took the crystal and sat in the middle of the cavern. In order to get his crystal working, he would need to infuse the crystal with the Force. The process took anywhere between three days to a week depending on you mastery of the force. Master Yoda had told Ben that he was stronger than any other he had trained, so he was hoping it would only take two.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ben surprised himself with his mastery of the force. It took him only one day to infuse his crystal with the power of the force. Ben picked up the power converter and placed the crystal inside. Next he placed the power converter inside of the hilt. Now he had a working saber. Activating it, he swung it around and got used the feel of it. As he deactivated his saber, the cave began to shake.

On board an Empirial Star Destroyer….

"This is the planet," Darth Vader explained to his apprentice, "There should be a series of tunnels that run to the core. Once there place these explosive devices and get off of the planet." The apprentice rose from his kneeling position to face the black abyss of his master's eyes. "As you wish, my master."

Back on the ground….

Ben hurried outside to the frozen tundra to find an Empirial Star Destroyer hovering just inside the atmosphere. He watched as a small ship exited the Star Destroyer and began to come closer to the surface. Ben sensed something was different about this Star Destroyer. Something on _that_ ship was swimming in the dark side of the force. That could only mean one thing…. Darth Vader.

The apprentice strode down the exit ramp of his small ship and surveyed the area. Everything seemed to be dead and lifeless on this frozen rock. He couldn't figure out why Vader wanted this place gone. It's not like there was any resistance here. The apprentice began to quickly move towards a cave. On his way, he noticed another small vessel. Without stopping, he surveyed the vehicle. Deciding that he actually wasn't alone, he became more wary as he entered the cavern.

Ben watched from a shadowy hiding spot as a young man in dark clothes entered the cave and began to move deeper into the cavern. Ben followed silently to see what he was up to. The young man stopped at an intersection, seeming to be deep in thought. Ben tried to move closer. That's where he made his mistake. The young man saw him and had him up against a wall within seconds.

"I thought I sensed you in here, Jedi." The apprentice said as he slammed him against another cavern wall using his force powers. Though, this time, the Jedi responded with a fierce push from the force. The Jedi's saber snapped into his hand and was activated in an instant. Only a split second later, the apprentice held his glowing red saber in his grasp. This would be his first encounter with a Jedi. And this one would soon be crushed under his boot.

Ben circled the Sith waiting for him to make the first move. So far, it was merely a battle of patience. Finally, after much waiting, the Sith hurled a stream of lightning from his hand. Ben blocked it with his saber and answered with a blast from his hand. The Sith flew back against one of cavern walls and, after recovering, rushed at Ben. Their lightsabers began to flash around in a deadly flurry of blows. Each of them took their share of falls and blows. Though the Sith fought well, it looked as though Ben would come out on top. The Sith pushed Ben away and began to run down the cavern once again. Quickly, Ben followed after him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The farther down he ran, the hotter this arctic wasteland seemed to become. At this point, Ben had lost all visual contact with the sith and was now running down the tunnel full speed hoping to catch him. Finally, Ben came to a room that glowed an orange-red color. The walls and floor was made primarily of metal with computers scattered about like some sort of lab.

At the far end of the room, Ben saw the sith exiting the room through a door. Quickly, he followed after him. The room he entered was not what he expected. It looked much like the previous, but with a giant, glowing ball of fire in the center. It was separated from the rest of the room by a thick layer of anti-melt glass. 'This whole facility is meant to study the planet's core.' Ben thought to himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw the sith placing det-packs on the glass. 'He's going to blow the whole planet!' Ben thought as he activated his lightsaber and ran towards the sith.

Having sensed the presence of the jedi once more, the apprentice looked up from his work and activated his lightsaber. This time, it was he who was taken by surprise. The jedi pushed him away from the glass and held him to the wall. It felt as though his bones were being snapped while being suffocated at the same time. Finally, as the apprentice knew the weak jedi always did, he was released from the death grip. The apprentice fell to the floor, gasping for air. As his lungs filled, he reached for his saber and pulled it towards him.

Ben raised his saber to block a surge of lightning that came towards him. The pressure was almost to great to bear, but he stood strong. The lightning stopped and the sith came charging at him. The two force users clashed sabers. Sparks flew as the sabers spun, each of the combatants looking for an opening to finish the fight. Finally, Ben saw that opening. Seeing a flaw in one of the sith's saber spins Ben took his saber and slashed at his arm.

The apprentice jerked back just in time to keep from having his arm severed from his body. The pain was agonizing, but he would suffer worse at the hands of Vader if he failed. The apprentice unleashed a powerful burst of Force knocking the jedi away from him. The apprentice deactivated his saber and exited the room. Once outside, he removed the remote from his belt and activated the det-packs. He had set them for two minutes. It would take up to two days for the planet to be destroyed, but after the explosion it would not be savable.

Ben groaned. He had failed to stop the sith. He was much more powerful than he had originally anticipated. He ran as fast as he could to escape the impending explosion. As he ran back through the caverns, the air began to grow colder and it almost stunned him. As he left the cave where he had found his crystal, he heard the explosion. 'This planet is at its end.' Ben thought with sadness in his heart. He ran towards his ship and quickly made the jump off world.

On the star destroyer…

The apprentice knelt before Vader, staring straight at the ground. "You have done well, my apprentice. Although I sense that you encountered something or someone that you did not expect." The apprentice spoke, still staring at the ground, "Yes master, I encountered a jedi knight. He nearly defeated me in combat, but he did not manage to stop the explosives." The apprentice awaited Vader's answer. "Your training with your saber and the Force will double from now on. You will need all the power you can if you are going to fight jedi," Vader paused, "but remember our ultimate goal." The apprentice rose and finished the sentence. "The emperor."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ben was racking his brains trying to find an answer to his questions. First and foremost, where should he go? He had to find a place where he could find answers to the rest of his questions. The only place he could think of was the Galactic Archives on Coruscant. So that's where he decided to go. He punched in the coordinates and set the ship to hyper drive. After doing so, he welcomed the warm arms of sleep.

_Ben's ship pulled out of hyperspace and slowly, the stars began to reappear. Ben's eyes widened as he saw in front of him, a giant space station. I resembled a moon, but with the size of a planet. In fact, the only give away was the fact that it was still under construction. Ben moved to turn his ship away, but something grabbed a hold of it. "Blast! A tractor beam!" Ben said aloud. Slowly, his ship was pulled into the enormous space station. He saw men standing on scaffoldings working tirelessly to complete the station. Stormtroopers patrolled the walkways with E-11 blaster rifles in hand. Their were Tie-Fighters hanging up in an easy access location if their was a need to defend the station. And then, at the very far end of the massive station, Ben couldn't believe what he saw. Darth Vader._

_The tractor beam landed the ship far from Vader and Ben was glad for that, but as he climbed out of the cockpit, Ben saw an all too familiar face. The sith he had fought earlier on Ilum. Ben reached for his saber, but it was nowhere to be found. Ben looked up and he saw the sith, now far away and locked in combat with the Emperor. 'Why are they fighting?' Ben thought to himself, "Are they not from the same order?' The next thing he knew the Emperor was on the ground and the sith had turned his back, sparing the life of the emperor. The Emperor then began to electrocute the sith relentlessly. The sith crumpled over, dead. Ben almost wanted to scream out in protest after seeing the sith spare the life of the Emperor. Now he turned to return to his ship, but instead found Vader's saber sticking through his mid section. The pain was agonizing for a short time. And then all went dark._

Ben awoke with a start from his dream. What an intriguing dream it was. He would ask Master Yoda of its meaning when he next saw him. Ben's ship pulled out of hyper space, this time for real, and he began to bring the ship into the atmosphere. He knew he would find answers here. He could sense it. Something was going to happen that would help him to discover, at least partially, the meaning of his dream. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Ben walked into the archives. He knew in his mind that he would find the meaning of his dream here. Ben slowly approached a computer, wary that Stormtroopers, or worse, the sith, could be lurking around any corner. As he sat down, Ben reached out with the Force to sense if anyone was watching him. 'Nothing,' Ben thought, 'I'd love to take that as a good sign, but something doesn't feel right.' **

**Ben hurriedly hacked into the Imperial database in search of anything that might relate to a giant moon shaped space station. After about thirty minutes of searching, something caught his eye. Ben opened it and read that an Imperial station, code named "The Death Star" was under construction and was quickly on its way to completion. He continued down the page and read that when this station was finished, it would have the power to destroy an entire planet with a single blast. **

**Ben reached out with the force again. He soon realized that the room had become much quieter since he entered. No one was searching the computers next to him. In fact, he couldn't see anyone at all. "Stand up, jedi." A voice came from behind. Ben slowly rose to his feet and turned around. The sith was standing there with his lightsaber in hand. "Your lightsaber, please. We wouldn't want any of these innocent people to die." Ben reluctantly took his lightsaber from his belt and handed it to the sith. "Good. Now, come with me. Lord Vader wants to see you himself." The sith raised the hilt of his saber and slammed it over Ben's head.**

**The apprentice quickly slaughtered everything that drew breath in that facility. Those were Vader's orders. No one must know that he exists, especially someone who might tell the Emperor. Now he drug the jedi towards his ship and told his pilot to take off towards Vader's flagship. The pilot nodded and punched in the coordinates. The apprentice locked the jedi in the back room, so that he wouldn't try to take over the ship somehow. 'When we reach Vader,' the apprentice thought to himself, 'he'll be in so much pain that he'll wish he were dead.'**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ben awoke with a pounding headache in a small metal room that he assumed was an Imperial detention center. He slowly sat up and surveyed his surroundings. 'No windows, one heavy looking metal door, and no apparent mode of escape. Great.'

Ben heard footsteps approaching outside the door. Ben reached for his lightsaber and then remembered that he had given it to the sith. The footsteps stopped in front of his cell and the door swung open. An Imperial officer stepped in, followed by two Stormtroopers. "Lord Vader has requested your presence." The officer said as one of the Stormtroopers moved to cuff his hands behind his back. The two troopers then positioned themselves behind him and prodded him to follow the officer.

In Lord Vader's chambers…

Lord Vader paced in front of Ben. "You seem to have given my apprentice some trouble on Ilum." I didn't reply to him. Vader stopped pacing and stood in front of me. His eyes were enough to strike fear into the hearts of a normal sentient being. But Ben wasn't a normal sentient being. He was a jedi. "I can't have anyone knowing that he exists, so you must die." Ben saw his lightsaber out of the corner of his eye and pulled it towards him. He quickly activated it and cut the cuffs binding his hands. Ben turned around and saw Darth Vader standing with his lightsaber activated in his hand. Ben moved to counter the powerful attacks that followed. He struggled to hold Vader's saber away from him and it grazed his leg. Ben jumped back screaming on the inside in pain. Vader then picked him up and began slamming him back and forth against the walls and floor. Ben's saber now lay far away from him. Ben stood up and stumbled over to a computer. Looking at the screen, Ben saw that the plans for the Death Star were pulled up. Ben quickly sent the plans to Bail Organa on Alderaan. Darth Vader picked him up again and slammed his face down onto the computer. Ben struggled to stand up and faced Vader. By the time he realized what was happening, it was already to late to stop it. Vader plunged his saber into Ben's abdomen. The pain was excruciating. It burned like white fire. It was much more painful and longer lasting than Ben had expected. Slowly, darkness began to enshroud his vision and soon all was black. Finally, Ben drew his last breath, dieing a hero.

Little did Ben know, that his final effort to destroy the Empire had set things in motion that could not be stopped by fear or by technology. From that day forth, the Empire was doomed to fall. The only question that remained: When?


End file.
